Dispersion relation of lipid membrane shape fluctuations by neutron spin-echo spectrometry

Phys Rev Lett. 2006 Jul 28;97(4):048103. doi: 10.1103/PhysRevLett.97.048103. Epub 2006 Jul 28.

Abstract

We have studied the mesoscopic shape fluctuations in aligned multilamellar stacks of 1,2-dimyristoyl-sn-glycero-3-phoshatidylcholine bilayers using the neutron spin-echo technique. The corresponding in plane dispersion relation tau-1(q//) at different temperatures in the gel (ripple, Pbeta') and the fluid (Lalpha) phase of this model system has been determined. Two relaxation processes, one at about 10 ns and a second, slower process at about 100 ns can be quantified. The dispersion relation in the fluid phase is fitted to a smectic hydrodynamic theory, with a correction for finite qz resolution. We extract values for the bilayer bending rigidity kappa, the compressional modulus of the stacks B, and the effective sliding viscosity eta3. The softening of a mode which can be associated with the formation of the ripple structure is observed close to the main phase transition.

MeSH terms

  • Computer Simulation
  • Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine / chemistry*
  • Membrane Fluidity*
  • Membrane Lipids / chemistry*
  • Models, Chemical*
  • Models, Molecular
  • Molecular Conformation
  • Neutron Diffraction
  • Spectrum Analysis
  • Temperature

Substances

  • Membrane Lipids
  • Dimyristoylphosphatidylcholine